Introductory remarks:
The purpose and aim of the Book of Acts is set for in the preface verses 1-8. This first chapter is a preparation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. "This chapter includes a brief introduction; a remembrance of the forty-day post-resurrection ministry of Jesus; His ascension and promise of return; then the apostles waiting for the Spirit, and their appointment of an apostle to take the place of Judas". This chapter may be outlined as follows: the promise of the Holy Spirit vv. 1-5; the ascension of Jesus vv. 6-11; the choice of Judas' successor vv. 12-26.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
Verse 1, "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,"
LGT "The first account indeed I made concerning all things, O Theophilus, which Jesus began both to do and to teach,"
The first thing that stands out to me is the name Theophilus. The name is Theo=God and philus = lover; so we see that the name means lover of God. Luke's Gospel was also addressed to Theophilus. "He was a man of rank. He may have defrayed the expense of publishing both Luke and Acts. Perhaps by this time Luke may have reached a less ceremonious acquaintance with Theophilus" (Robertson).
The Acts is a continuation of what Jesus began both to do and teach, "to recall to the recollection from the Gospel all the several incidents and events, up to the ascension, in which Jesus had appeared as Doer and Teacher" (Meyer). "The earthly life of Jesus, concluded with the ascension, has its fruit and continued efficacy; and his heavenly life, commencing with the ascension, has its manifestation and proof in the acts and experiences of the apostles and first churches. The history of the Church was under the immediate control of the exalted Redeemer, and may justly be considered as the continuation in heaven of the work which had begun on earth" (Baumgarten and Gloag-quoted by Vincent). Vincent continues, "The following writings appear intended to give us, and do, in fact, profess to give us, that which Jesus continued to do and teach after the day in which He was taken up."
Verse 2, "Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen."
LGT "Until the day in which, having given command to the apostles, whom He chose by [the] Holy Spirit, He was taken up:"
The command was given by the Lord to the eleven apostles to go now into the entire world and peach the Gospel; before this command, the disciples were commissioned to go the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Holy Spirit not only chose the eleven to be apostles, by the lord Jesus Christ, the Lord himself was taken up by the Holy Spirit. The Lord was subject His entire ministry to the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3, "To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
LGT "To whom also He presented Himself living after He had suffered, with many proofs, during forty days, being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God:"
Jesus presented Himself living no less than thirteen times during this time of forty days after His suffering on the cross for the sins of the entire world. It was necessary for the apostles to witness his resurrection, for without the resurrection we are all most miserable. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is at the very heart of our religion; we Christians celebrate this wonderful event every Sunday; to the church it is an infallible proof that Christ is raised. The apostles needed these forty days, and a few went on to write the rest of the New Testament, and give Bible Doctrine to the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; to all of us today the Word of God is the infallible proof that He is resurrected, and our hope lies in this wonderful Word. And speaking the things concerning the Kingdom of God is the message the apostles took and preached to the whole world. The looking forward to the Kingdom of God was the hope of the early Church, which was continually taught them by their Master. Today we have the Gospel of Grace, which Paul has given us in the Epistles; Church doctrine is not found in the history of Acts, other than in future terms; Paul and Peter, James, and John wrote the epistles that we in this age of grace might also believe and be saved for all eternity. "The problem" says McGee, "of the unbeliever today is not with the facts, but with his own unbelief." The unbeliever does not go to hell for their sin, but for their unbelief. Christ paid the price for all sin on the cross (1 John 2:2) making it impossible for man to pay for his own sin; unbelieving mankind spend eternity separated from God because they reject Christ's propitiatory death. Now we believers can rest assured that we are saved 1) from the penalty of sin that was imputed on us when Adam sinned, and, 2) we are saved now from the power of sin, that is, we have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, and the imputed righteousness of Christ (1 Cor. 5:21); this does not mean that we live sinless perfect lives, only that we have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and that Christ abides in us; sin has no more dominion over us, for we are not under law, but under grace; we will develop this doctrine when we get to Romans. We are saved from the presence of sin when we finally arrive in heaven to spend eternity face to face with our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Verse 4, "And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me."
LGT "And being assembled together with [Him] He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, which [said He] ye heard of Me."
This is the last of the sentence, which began in verse one. Jesus had promised another Comforter and He will continue with you (John 14:25,26) on the Mount; and now they are to wait for this promise. Jesus commanded the apostles to stay together in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes and equips them for their mission.
Verse 5, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."
LGT "For John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized in [the] Holy Spirit not after many days these."
He makes it very clear that He is not referring to water baptism; for all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are immediately baptized in the Holy Spirit the very moment of salvation. The apostles are to wait for this baptism before they attempt to announce to the world the Good News of Jesus Christ, that is, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
This distinction should be kept very clear in order that we today do not get confused with the symbolic baptism in water, and the real baptism in the Holy Spirit, in the which, He takes us personally and places us in union with the Lord Jesus Christ; these are all positional truths that must be learned by every born again believer, in order for there to be a growing in grace and the knowledge of the Truth. If we are not clear on positional Truth, there is the tendency to mix Law with Grace.
The Ascension of Jesus
Verse 6, "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"
LGT "They indeed therefore, having come together, asked Him, saying, Lord, at this time will you restore the kingdom to Israel?"
This is a legitimate question the apostles are asking the Lord for they had been groomed throughout their lives that the Messiah would come and set up His kingdom; now that He has come, they were hoping to be set free from the Roman political yoke. "As a matter of fact the Messianic Kingdom for which they were asking is a political kingdom that would throw off the Roman yoke. It is a futuristic present and they are uneasy that Jesus may yet fail to fulfill their hopes. Surely here is proof that the eleven apostles needed the promise of the Father before they began to spread the message of the Risen Christ. They still yearn for a political kingdom for Israel even after faith and hope have come back. They need the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (John 14-16) and the power of the Holy Spirit" (Robertson).
Verse 7, "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power."
LGT "And He said to them, It is not yours to know the times or seasons which the Father placed in His own authority,"
I know this verse must make a lot of the prophecy mongers uneasy, but it is restricted to the authority of the Godhead, and He will reveal it in the proper time. It's a shame that the individuals within the Church have this irresistible desire to write on subjects that God has left unrevealed; whatever He has revealed should occupy all our time, and then some, without speculating on things not revealed. Of course we know that there are a lot of these mongers who are just trying to sell books so they don't have to go to work like the rest of us.
McGee adds:
"So when the apostles asked Jesus whether He would restore the kingdom 'at this time', His answer was that this was not the subject for discussion at that time. Nor is it the subject for discussion today. There are a great many people who say to me, 'Don't you think the Lord will be coming soon?' Well, now, I'll let you in on something that is confidential between you and me: I do believe that He is coming soon. However, I don't have any authority to tell you that He is coming soon, because I don't know. Our Lord said it is not for us to know the times or the seasons. That is the important part for us."
Barnes notes:
"Promises sufficiently clear and full are therefore given to us to encourage us, but not so full as to excite a vain and idle curiosity. All this is eminently true of our own death, one of the most important future scenes through which we are to pass. It as certainly before us; it is near; it cannot be long delayed; it may come at any moment. God has fixed the time, but will not inform us when it shall be. He does not gratify a vain curiosity; nor does He terrify us by announcing to us the day or the hour when we are to die, as we do a man that is to be executed. This would be to make our lives like a criminal sentenced to die, and we should through all our life, through fear of death, be subject to bondage, Heb. 2:15. He has made enough known to excite us to make preparation, and to be always ready, having our loins girt about and our lamps trimmed and burning, Luke 12:35."
Verse 8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
LGT "But ye shall receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon you, and you shall be witnesses of Me both in Jerusalem, and [in] all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
As I said in all these commissions recorded in the Gospels, they must be kept in their context. Unlike most of the commentators I have read, I do not believe that this verse is to be applied to the church today; I do not believe that God has called the Church corporately, but individually; this will come out as we study Paul' and Peter's epistles. In short, I believe we are to study the Word of God to show ourselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth; and to be ready to give an answer to any man who might ask us about the Truth. The Apostolic Church, received special power from the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to fulfill 'The Great Commission.' I do not have a problem with a person thinking that they are under this Commission, however, I do have a problem with their thinking that they have received the Apostolic Spiritual Gifts. As I have noted many times, we have the Word of God, the Great Two-edged Sword to sow, and the Holy Spirit abiding in us; this is all the gifts from God we need; remember, you cannot separate God from His Word; therefore, greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world.
Robertson comes very close to the context:
"Their very question was ample proof of their need of this new 'power' (dunamin), to enable them (from dunamai, to be able), to grapple with the spread of the gospel in the world. The Holy Spirit will give them the 'power' as He comes upon them. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit referred to in verse 5. (There are those who believe that the difference between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the outpouring of the Holy spirit at Pentecost are two separate events; and I tend to agree; I believe that Pentecost was simply a visible sign of the future baptism accompanying salvation; the baptism of the holy Spirit is not a thing to be experienced or felt; we will see that there will be believers that did not even know that the Holy Spirit existed in them). In Acts 1:22 an apostle has to be a 'witness to the resurrection' of Christ and in 10:39 to the life and work of Jesus. Hence there could be no 'apostles' in this sense after the first generation. But here the apostles are called 'My witnesses.' 'His by direct relationship.' The expanding sphere of their witness when the Holy Spirit comes upon them is 'unto the uttermost part of the earth. Once they had been commanded to avoid Samaria (Matt. 10:5), but now it is included in the world program as already outlined on the mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:19=Mark 16:15). Jesus is on Olivet as He points to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth. The Acts themselves form the best commentary on these words, and the words themselves might be given as the best summary of the Acts. The events follow this outline (Jerusalem till the end of chapter 7, with the martyrdom of Stephen, the scattering of the saints through Judea and Samaria in chapter 8, the conversion of Saul, chapter 9, the spread of the gospel to Romans in Caesarea by Peter (chapter 10), to Greeks in Antioch (chapter 11), finally Paul's world tours and arrest and arrival in Rome (chapters 11-28)."
Verse 9, "And while he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
LGT "And having said these things, they beholding [Him] He was taken up, and cloud withdrew Him from their eyes."
What a magnificent scene as they were looking directly at Him, He was taken up supported by a cloud of glory. Christ did not ascend invisibly, but as they were looking at Him; if we believe this account by Luke, what confidence we have in eventually joining him; we will be carried to heaven by angels. The apostles received much confidence in seeing Him taken visibly to heaven; there was no room for doubting left; this miracle had to give them strength for the days ahead, and it would have wiped away all their fear of death.
Verses 10, 11, "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
LGT "And as they looking intently into the heaven as He was going, and behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into the heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into the heaven, thus will come in the manner you beheld Him going into the heaven."
The angels use the personal name "Jesus" for the glorified Christ, assuring them that He left them into heaven as their friend, and will return to them in the same manner. The mention of Galilee by the angels was making reference to where Christ had called them from, and that it was an endearing reference to them as Jesus was their true Friend. "It is the glorified Jesus who went up into heaven. This same Jesus, the glorified Jesus, will return in like manner and to the same place. Zechariah 14:4 tells us: And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. He took off at that place, and He will come back to that place" (McGee).
The Choice of Judas' Successor
Verse 12, "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath's day's journey."
LGT "Then they returned to Jerusalem from [the] from the mount called, of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, having a Sabbath's way."
"The way conceived as belonging to the mountain; connected with it in reference to the neighborhood of Jerusalem. A Sabbath-day's journey, according to Jewish tradition, was about three-quarters of a mile. It was the supposed distance between the camp and the tabernacle in the wilderness (Josh. 3:4)" (Vincent).
Verse 13, "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James."
LGT "And when they had entered, they went up in to the chamber where were abiding both Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James [son] of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Jude [brother] of James."
The Greek word for "abode" is that the Apostles were abiding there permanently; that is; this is where they were living. Robertson says, "This may have been the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where they later met for prayer Acts 12:12."
Vincent adds:
"An upper room, with the article, denoting some well-known place of resort. It was the name given to the room directly under the flat roof. Some rooms were often set apart as halls of meetings. In such an apartment Paul delivered his farewell address at Troas (Acts 20:8), and the body of Dorcas was laid (Acts 9:37), Used by Luke only."
The Expositor's Greek Testament notes on this list of Apostles:
"In comparing this list of the Apostles with that given by the Synoptists [Matthew, Mark and Luke] we notice that whilst St. Peter stands at the head in the four lists, those three are placed in the first group who out of the whole band are prominent in the Acts as also in the Gospels, viz., Peter, John, and James; all the Synoptists, however, place St. James as the elder brother before St. John. In St. Luke's first list, as in St. Matthew's list, the brothers Peter and Andrew stand first, followed by another pair of brothers James and John; but in Acts Andrew gives place, as we might expect, to the three Apostles who had been admitted to the closest intimacy with Jesus during His earthly life, and St. John as St. Peter's constant companion in the Gospel narrative makes a pair with them."
Verse 14, "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brethren."
LGT "These all were steadfastly continuing, with one accord in prayer together with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brethren."
"There is no way that we can duplicate this period today. Remember that this is a time period, a time capsule [another dispensation], between His ascension into heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit. You and I do not live in that time period. It cannot be duplicated. We are not waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit; He came over nineteen hundred years ago" (McGee)
John Calvin notes on the Roman Catholic Church giving Peter supremacy:
"Too, too ridiculous are the Papists, which go about to prove Peter his supremacy hereby, because he is reckoned up first of all the Apostles. Although we do grant that he was the chiefest of the Apostles, yet it doth not follow hereupon that he was the chiefest ruler of all the world. But if he be, therefore, the chief of all the Apostles, because his name is first in the catalogue of the Apostle's names, I will again conclude, that the mother of Christ was inferior unto all the rest of the women, because she is [here] reckoned last; which they will in no case admit, as indeed it were a thing too absurd. Wherefore, unless they will set their Papacy to be laughed at of all men, as hitherto they have done, they must leave off to adorn it with such foolish toys. But what is their intent? Forsooth, they will prove out the Scriptures that there was a secondary head of the Church, inferior to Christ, whereas there is no syllable in the Scripture, which is connecting unto this foolish invention. No marvel is it, therefore, if they do snatch here and there certain places, which, although no man can smite them out of their hands, they will let fall of their own accord. But omitting them, let us mark what is Luke's purpose in this place. Because the disciples had fallen away, and filthily fled from their Master Christ, every man wither fear did drive him, (Matt. 26:56) they did deserve like forsakers of their masters, or renegades, to be deprived of honor. Therefore, that we may know that by the appointment of the Lord they were gathered together again, and restored to their former degree, Luke reckoned up all their names."
Verse 15, "And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)"
LGT "And in those days, having stood up, Peter in [the] midst of the brethren said, (the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty)"
Peter was probably the eldest of the disciples, so it was natural for him to take the lead; another reason he spoke up, is that Christ had dealt with him in a special way after he denied Christ. Peter was the spokesman for the disciples throughout the Gospels, and he was the spokesman on this occasion; remember, though, the Holy Spirit had not been poured out, he did not yet speak with authority. The number, 120, probably included the apostle's wives, and may have even included their children; in any case, it was a very close-knit group led by the apostles.
Verses 16, 17, "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus for he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry."
LGT "Men, brethren, it was necessary this Scripture to have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before, by the mouth of David concerning Judas, the one who became a guide to the ones who took Jesus, for he was numbered with us, and obtained a part of this service."
The Psalm Peter is making reference to here, Psalm 69:25; 109:8; both refer to Judas' betrayal, and another taking his place as a disciple. Judas led the Sanhedrim to Jesus so they might take Him and crucify Him. Now Peter feels it his responsibility to assign one to take his place; the question has come up among commentators of why Peter didn't ask Christ Himself when He was with them; of course they must have been preoccupied with the glorified Christ.
Verse 18, "Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."
LGT "This [man] indeed, then got a field out of the reward of unrighteousness, and having fallen headlong burst in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."
This account by Luke is not opposed to Matthew's account; that is, that Judas hanged himself. The fact is that he did hang himself, but the cord he used broke and he plunged headlong over the precipice, and his bowels burst in the midst; the fact of his throwing his thirty pieces of silver into the temple court is accounted for by the fact that the priests took the money and bought the 'Field of Blood' with the money, because as Edershem notes:
"It was not lawful to take into the temple treasury, for the purchase of sacred things, money that had been unlawfully gained. In such case the Jewish law provided that the money was to be restored to the donor, and, if he insisted on giving it that he should be induced to spend it for something for the public weal. By a fiction of law the money was still considered to be Judas's, and to have been applied by him of the well-known 'Potter's Field.'"
Verses 19, 20, "And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take."
LGT "And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so that field was called, in their own language, Aceldama, that is, Field of Blood. For it has been written [and stands written] in the Book of Psalms,
Let his homestead become desolate,
And let there not be [one] dwelling in it,
And,
His overseership let another take."
The "proper tongue" was the language of the Jews dwelling in Jerusalem, which was Aramaic. Peter is quoting from Psalm 69; the KJV has the office of "bishopric" which did not come until later in 1 Tim. 3:1. Here it is predicted that another would be appointed an apostle to take Judas's place. The key word in this is "appointed." Remember an apostle could not be appointed before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or Jesus Christ Himself appoints one, as He did in the case of Saul of Tarsus. In the apostolic age, the original apostles could appoint other apostles, that is, "one's sent" in order to disseminate the Word of God; the word "apostle" means, sent one. After the Word of God had been completed and sent out to the habitable earth, the supernatural gifts, along with the offices in the church ceased. In this age of grace we are "family" worshipping God together by studying Bible Doctrine; there are no leaders taking authority over the congregation; today we are meeting around the Word of God in order to sing praises and glorifying His name; our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Verses 21, 22, "Wherefore of these men which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection."
LGT "It is necessary therefore, of those men companioning with us, during all [the] time, in which the Lord Jesus came in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which He was taken from us, a witness of His resurrection, to become one of these with us."
Peter has everything straight so far; an apostle must be a witness of the personal life of our Lord, and a witness of His resurrection and ascension. The thing He did not have right, was that the Lord is the one who must appoint an apostle. These qualifications should put an end to all the ones who claim apostleship today, but it surely doesn't. We are inundated with self-righteous pretenders who claim to be something special; a beautiful illustration of this is when the 'Poop", I mean "Pope" visited Yankee stadium recently; how utterly horrid it was to see people from the families of those who died in that tragic Twin Towers murder, kneel down and kiss that disgusting man's ring; I would not want to be in the Popes shoes at the final judgment. As a matter of fact I would hate to be in his shoes right now; what a deplorable life he must live; he just sat there with that insipid smirk on his face while real human beings kissed his ring; this man thinks he is God.
Verse 23, "And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias."
LGT "And they set forth two, Joseph, the one called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias."
These two men had followed Christ throughout His ministry from His baptism by John to His ascension, but that did not qualify them to be an apostle, for no one but Christ knows whom he should be.
Verses 24, 25, "And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that they may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
LGT "And praying they said, Thou Lord, Knower of the hearts of all, show of these two which thou did choose to receive the place of this service and apostleship, from which Judas fell transgressing, to go to his own place."
Peter here call's God the "heart knower." Peter knows that God is the One who makes an apostle, but he is a bit overanxious. Christ had told them to wait for the Holy Spirit, and I am sure, as we shall soon see, that He does have someone, one Saul of Tarsus, already chosen. Peter knows that Judas has gone to the place of his own choosing, that is, eternal separation from God, in the fire that is never quenched, and the worm does not die.
Verse 26, "And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."
LGT "And they gave lots unto them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."
Even though the "casting of lots" was not considered gambling, and that it was the OT way of determining the will of God, it is still superstitious nonsense. There were only to be twelve Apostles, and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ would chose the twelfth.
McGee adds:
"It is my conviction that the man the Lord chose was Paul. You may ask, 'Do you have an authority for that statement?' Yes. Listen to Paul as he writes to the Galatian believers: Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Gal. 1:1). Paul is saying that he was chosen by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. How did He do it? Through the Holy Spirit whom He had sent into the world. The ministry of Paul certainly justifies the fact that he was the one to take Judas' place. Of course I realize that the majority of good commentators disagree with me, but I am passing on to you my own conviction.
It is remarkable, and I want to mention again how Acts 1 brings the four Gospels to a focal point. Matthew concludes with the Resurrection, Mark with the Ascension, Luke with the promise of the Holy Spirit, and John with the promise of the Second Coming. Acts 1 brings all four records together and mentions each of them. The four Gospels funnel into Acts, and Acts is the bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles."
Share freely but cite the source: http://bbbiblehelps.epizy.com